SL's latest car quest: Sorted!

[r.welfare]

Am I right in thinking it's just a radio controlled Subaru MV pickup? Did they called it Brat in Japan? I'm thinking how cool it would be if there was a radio controlled toy version of all the cars we like! Imagine, radio controlled toy Morris Marina van with AA decals one the side! Or Radio contolled Citroen GS with raising & lowering suspension!

Hmm - total sales would be about 6!Tamiya are re-releasing a lot of their old stuff at the moment, re-engineered for the new Millenium. I noticed the Lancia 037 came out again a couple of years back, but at £200 just for the kit it was too much for me. And these days, because shopping centres and supermarkets are open on Sundays, there's nowhere decent to run the things. Been a good five years since my last Tamiya R/C car. I have experimented with those small ones though, XMODS, Kyosho Mini-Z and the Tomy equivalents, quite entertaining if you have laminated floors and not too much furniture...

[MrRegieRitmo]

I always wanted what my old neighbour had when I was a kid - Vanessa's Lunchbox (a bright yellow Chevy van on big wheels) but it was too much for me or my parents at about £150 and this was about 15yrs ago!At least it wasn't called Linford's lunchbox!

[Guest]

A buddy of mine has a Vanessa's Lunchbox with lots of fancy "tune-up" parts fitted, great fun to skid around his garden!As for the cars, SL, you MUST get the Medalist. I mean, just look at the radio!! You know it makes sense. The 323 is cool - too cool for the likes of us.

[reallyloud]

Massive danger of taking this a long way from the potential coolness of a pillarless sedan with a pimp interior but yes the Tamiya brat is legendary. I got hooked onto tamiya R/C cars after watching the rich kids show them off at lunchtime in the school hall when I was 12. I bought a sizable amount of them off friends a few years later when they started going off them and getting interested in recreational activities, such as casual alcohol abuse and skirt. I have about 10 of them in various states of condition, the best on is a mid eighties Toyota Celica GR5 rally car, I also have the afore mentioned Lunchbox, brat/frog, monster beetle, a very unstable Pajero that wheelies and a few off road buggy things. I used to have a Ford Ranger, but that got smashed up by a boy racer in a Manta. They are expensive and I've only ever bought 2 new, and thats only because they were heavily discounted after xmas - a racing mini and a VW 1300, both a ton each with radio gear and batteries from Modelzone in Holborn.

[MrRegieRitmo]

They are expensive and I've only ever bought 2 new, and thats only because they were heavily discounted after xmas - a racing mini and a VW 1300, both a ton each with radio gear and batteries from Modelzone in Holborn.

Why's it called Brat, may I ask?Holborn Modelzone......don't tell me the last Beatties in the country is now just another Modelzone?Modelzone in Brighton is great, any more than 5 people want to go in at once, you have to take a ticket & stand outside! The stairs to the stock room in the cellar are just behind the counter, so you see the bloke steadily get shorter & shorter as he disappears behind the counter, down the stairs! I swear if you leaned over the counter, he'd just be crouched down there waiting till you've gone, and there'd be no staircase at all!

[Heidel_Kakao]

Why's it called Brat, may I ask?

Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter, obvious really

[Milford Cubicle]

How boring is Multi-purpose Vehicle compared with that?

[MrRegieRitmo]

Why couldn't they leave them as that over here instead of whatever it was they called them. It's hardly offensive, assertive & cheeky sounding maybe, but not offensive.

[Guest]

I think it's to do with that Subarus here were firmly marketed at farmers, whereas the Brat was marketed towards young drivers looking for something fun and different. Don't think farmers would go for that!

[Milford Cubicle]

They marketed the Mk1 Brat here as the 'Shifter'. Any obscurity?

 

 

[Guest]

Superb name! A striking black, orange and gold stripe, eh? Sold!

[mk2_craig]

Why's it called Brat, may I ask?

Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter, obvious really

So what is Bedford's RASCAL an acronym for??

[Spottedlaurel]

Well, never knew they sold a 2wd version here, that Shifter's a new one on me.Who wants to lay bets on whether or not Subaru did sell them here as The Brat? Just fired up the scanner...

[Spottedlaurel]

OK, doesn't look like there are any badges on it saying Brat, but it's certainly what the brochure says...

 

 

 

Quick request to Hirst and any of the other Yahoo! Japanese auction watchers, I'd be grateful if you could find a few sassy C32's for inspiration.

[reallyloud]

These seem to have a lot of restrain in terms of modifications, but i think the C32 only needs subtle touches.

 

 

[Spottedlaurel]

This C230 is something to aspire to...

 

 

I found that white facelift hardtop too DC. Can't see your other piccy. Just going to have a look at Stuyizz's pic's from Hot Olds to see if there were any there.

[Guest]

Here we go:

 

Cartoon taxi action!

 

Bit more sporty.

 

Seems to be quite an unmodded car doesn't it?

[Spottedlaurel]

Little bit more Googling turned up this:

 

 

I then found a great pic which Stuyizz took of it:

 

 

I personally don't like the the way much of the trim has been coded, though it certainly is a very straight example.

[Guest]

Red doesn't seem like the right sort of colour for these sort of cars, one of my Charmant brochures has a red one and it just looks totally wrong.I reckon just obtain the badge for the bonnet (via Yahoo Auctions?) and go cruising! It's cool even with hubcaps.Though I reckon the usual J-wheel choices would go well, SSR/Impul Mesh type stuff.Out of curiousity, wonder what my Equips would look like on it?

[MrRegieRitmo]

OK, doesn't look like there are any badges on it saying Brat, but it's certainly what the brochure says...

 

 

The Subaru Brat will take you and your gear anywhere you want to go. It will then stop halfway there, turnaround and take you back the other way, because it's a petulant sod!

[Guest]

Found this smart one:

 

I love reverse two-tone!

[michiel]

That's a nice colour scheme!Love those early Brats/Shifters, they are awesome.

[pogweasel]

Right, I'm getting a bit confused. These 'hardtop' things look quite nice (although I have to say that white/black combo on the SL version isn't -very- appealing)... they seem fairly sleek. But the Laurels we got here seem much more upright and frumpy, with a steeper angle on the rear screen. Or am I confuzzling my Laurels?I'm thinking of the sort that SL had last winter or the winter before... seeminly only available here in tow-tone blue or gold....

[Spottedlaurel]

Red doesn't seem like the right sort of colour for these sort of cars, one of my Charmant brochures has a red one and it just looks totally wrong.I reckon just obtain the badge for the bonnet (via Yahoo Auctions?) and go cruising! It's cool even with hubcaps.Though I reckon the usual J-wheel choices would go well, SSR/Impul Mesh type stuff.Out of curiousity, wonder what my Equips would look like on it?

I agree about the colour. White and gold would be my choice any day.Badge can be dealt with in part by putting the UK one on, at least it'll fill the hole. Getting one in conjunction with a rear light and other oddments from Japan is a good idea.

[Guest]

I quite like the colour scheme, but I would prefer some obnoxious combination like champagne and dark blue, if they did that.However, I have truly awful taste.

[Spottedlaurel]

Small update. Collecting it next week, when it's going to be whizzed straight round to the capable and symapthetic hands of R-Rer Stuyizz for an MoT.

 

My Dutch friend Iwan kindly did a couple of brochure scans for me:

 

 

 

Which Hirst and the IT elves at OJC HQ have sorted for me. Thanks!

 

So, who is the mystery laughing Japanese man? Looks like the other chap is holding an LP or something with him on, and Nissan at this time did have celebrities tied into various cars - Paul Newman on the Skyline, Jack Nicklaus on the Gloria, Jocky Wilson on the Stanza, Una Stubbs on the Pulsar etc etc.

 

Well, by accident I found this excellent site: http://car-cm.zdap.jp/nissan/laurel.htm

 

Which basically seems to be a series of stills from Japanese TV ad's and is certainly worth further investigation. Found the C32 one easy enough, and there's the laughing man. It says music by Sadao Watanabe, and there's a pic of him with a sax. Quick Google revealed that's who it is! So, I really ought to buy something by him for when I'm wafting around in the C32 (nothing later than 1985 mind).

 

Edit: Yes Pog, the UK version was the pillared sedan with a much less sleek roofline. Here's my old one, still festering on the drive (and I'm now very glad it hasn't gone, with all those handy bits on it).

 

[MrRegieRitmo]

 

So, who is the mystery laughing Japanese man? Looks like the other chap is holding an LP or something with him on, and Nissan at this time did have celebrities tied into various cars - Paul Newman on the Skyline, Jack Nicklaus on the Gloria, Jocky Wilson on the Stanza, Una Stubbs on the Pulsar etc etc.

Looks like he's holding a special Asian edition of Phil Collins' Face Value album!

[pogweasel]

Jockie Wilson?

[Spottedlaurel]

Jockie Wilson?

I might be making some of that up...

 

The people who they did choose (and 50% of the above are correct) weren't really much better once you get beyond the BBQ sauce king.

[Guest]

The TRAITOR!

 

 

Look at him, in his American car! He's let us all down.